I'm cross posting this from Reddit as this information is super useful for those who may wander in thinking they can just get a projector instead of a TV and it will be an easier option.
Projectors are not ideal as TV replacements. Most people think that you can just plop a projector down and have an easily portable setup that looks amazing and can go anywhere. That's just mostly not the case at all.
- Projectors are MUCH dimmer than televisions. So rooms with any ambient light will dramatically hurt the image quality of a projector.
- Projectors are designed around a BIG image. Not a TV sized image. So, while a 110" to 135" diagonal are standard, when you get down to TV sized images, you are under utilizing the projector, and typically paying more for an image which is worse.
- Projectors tend to have terrible sound. The speakers inside projectors are generally small and fairly weak, with UST projectors often being the exception.
- The sound from projectors (other than Ultra Short Throw (UST)) models comes from the wrong place! Sound is supposed to come from the front of the room, near the image, not next to you, or behind you, as it does when you use the speakers in the projector.
- Projectors are difficult to wire up properly. So many people think that it's all just wireless and it works, when the exact opposite is true. Bluetooth tends to be laggy, most projectors don't have features like Audio Return Channel (ARC) on them, and any that do, require you to run a wire from the projector's location to the speaker's location. Not always easy to do.
- Projectors aren't smart TVs! While a few projectors are fully fleshed out with decent smart operating systems, most are incredibly underfeatured with terrible smart platforms on them. Often just a version of Android that is totally lousy, so you will need to get a external streaming device. Fortunately, products like Roku and Apple TV are quite good and run things really well.
- The contrast on projectors is generally destroyed by similarly priced televisions.
- To get the best out of a projector, a good room is a requirement, not an option. You destroy contrast when you throw a projector into a typical family room environment.
- Yes, you will need a screen for best results. A well painted and finished wall can do a good job, and there are some do it yourself options out there which look quite good, but it all boils down to 'being a screen'.
- Projectors are NOT cheap. There are not nearly as many no-name televisions you see as you do with projectors. The plethora of no-name imported Chinese junk is ridiculous. So, you then get into name brand models like Epson and BenQ, and you find out quickly that entry level 4K from these guys is over $1,000. I bought a 58" Hisense TV for under $300 which looks better than 99% of the projectors on the market. That's the simple reality.
Projectors can be amazing, but far too many people think they are as easy as a television. Which they can be if you don't care about any of the things on the list above. But, a proper theater setup is a lot of work, and tends to be more expensive. Even a basic theater setup is a fair bit of work to do right and will cost a lot more than most televisions.
At the end of the day, if you want a good setup, then you will need to do some research to understand what you are getting and how things will look ahead of time. You will need to accept the 10 things I listed above as reality. Then you can make an informed buying decision.
With how many drawbacks there are, why is it that people bother with them at all?
Because for those not replacing a TV, but setting up a THEATER, even a compromised one, they can achieve a TRULY big screen experience at a price that no television can touch, because they don't make 120"+ sized televisions for under $5,000 (yet). It also delivers a true cinematic feel within your home with an image that certainly seems to match that of most movie theaters. Add in a decent sound system and you can get the full immersion of a movie theater with a pause button and the best seat in the house every time you're watching.
